New ‘Bachelorette’ Clare Crawley Draws Epic Internet Reactions
Clare Crawley is our new Bachelorette!
ABC made the official announcement Monday (March 2) on Good Morning America, confirming the 38-year-old hairstylist from Juan Pablo's season of The Bachelor will take on the leading role for the show's 16th season.
"I literally just found out. So unexpected!" Crawley said on GMA before revealing she only found out two days prior. "Can you believe this? I cannot believe it. I mean, six years later. What is happening?"
As for how she feels about being the oldest Bachelorette in the franchise's history, she proudly shared, “I feel like a lot of people put [age] out there as this negative thing, but for me, it just is more years under my belt, more learning and knowing what I want, what I don’t want and what I won’t settle for."
“I want a man who is strong, who is willing to take off the body armor, open himself up and be vulnerable," Crawley added. "I think that [shows] some serious strength right there, so I want a man who can do that.”
The Bachelor franchise loves a good surprise — and this one definitely came as a shock to fans who were expecting the Bachelorette to be someone from Peter Weber's season of the dating show. However, Rob Mills, ABC's senior vice president told ET last month that age and maturity were things they were looking for "moving forward."
It's safe to say Bachelor Nation loves ABC's choice as former contestants, including Nick Viall, Chris Bukowski and Shawn Booth, praised Crawley following the announcement.
Crawley's ex Benoît Beauséjour-Savard, whom she met on Bachelor Winter Games, also sent her well wishes, writing, "She is smart, fun, strong, knows what she wants and most importantly, she will call out the guys messing around!!"
Meanwhile, fans are over the moon about The Bachelorette's new leading lady.
Crawley's season of The Bachelorette starts filming later this month.